But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under
his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious
body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I
love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand first in the
Lord, dear friends!
Philippians
3:20-21, 4-1
Lily
is growing, and healing. The last year
has been one of exhaling and seeing fruit.
Tomorrow will mark the day we have been hoping for. Tomorrow will be a day of rejoicing and
celebrating. A journey finally complete
and nothing but the future ahead. God’s
timing is perfect. Even if, at times, it
didn’t feel good and make sense along the way.
This
summer Lily tried track and field. I don’t
think she realizes just how talented she is.
One day she will but for now she is experiencing life to the fullest. Sometimes it’s hard keeping up with her
spirit for life. It’s like she was held
captive in her thoughts, emotions, body, and circumstances for three plus years,
and now she is exploding life. She is making
up for lost time.
There are moments I get to experience
with her, that I tuck away and treasure.
This happened during one practice a few months ago. Towards the end of
season Lily was really getting the hang of track. She was getting use to the chair, the coaches,
and the track. Lily hasn’t figured this
out yet, but she is a fierce competitor.
She is and will be a force to be reckoned with. I am sure her coach noticed this as well, and
one practice she pushed her a little harder than most. Lily was getting used to her chair on the
track and man, she is fast. About half-way
through her laps I could tell she was getting tired. Coach kept pushing her. I could see tears were coming and about to
fall. Few more laps and they did. She stopped came over to me and the water
works began. We talked through whether
she was tired or in pain. Anna Lee gave
some encouragement on an athlete/sister level.
Her coach came over encouraged and talked through what it meant to quit or
keep going. She encouraged her not to
quit and to finish. She got herself
together, got back on the track and finished.
She had the option to quit that day.
She had the option to sit in her sorrow, feel sorry for herself, or become
an athlete, dig deep, and finish strong.
But what happened after that is what encouraged my momma heart. She finished her laps and her practice. After practice, she could have put up her
chair, grabbed her stuff and left. But
she didn’t. She finished her laps, and then
she started helping put up the track and field equipment. She helped clear the court. She helped her teammates and coaches not only
finish practice but clean up after practice.
She was learning life skills in that moment. My seven-year-old, who came from nothing is
now learning character. She is learning how
to be a good human. She is learning how
not to quit when things get hard. She is
learning how to put others first when everything in her has been engrained to
fight for yourself to stay alive. She is
learning to trust. She is learning how
much she is loved, not only by us but by a Father who never left her, who’s
plans are far better for her than anything we could have imagine.
Tomorrow
Schneily Dulcema Dobson will become a United States Citizen. A journey that we embarked on 7 years ago,
before this baby was even born, will finally come to an amazing end. The last “paperwork” step will happen. And life for Lily will finally be
secure. I never imagined this journey of
adoption would look like this for us. But
looking back now, I am so thankful for the story God wrote for Lily and for
us. The growth and learning that has
come for all of us. I often wondered why
it took so long. I can see now why it
did. Too many reasons to type and share,
but I am so thankful it is happening now, instead of this time last year, or
the year before, or the year before that.
Because what’s happened in this last year of our lives together as a
family has been beautiful. It’s been
full of healing for all of us. It’s been
full of falling in love with a daughter the Lord knew we all needed. It’s been full of learning to trust and love
like the Father loves us. Lily has
taught us more about loving like Jesus than anything else in life. She has changed our lives for the
better. And tomorrow we celebrate. She becomes a citizen but that is not the
most important thing that will happen in her life, yet.
My
prayer has always been that she experiences the love of Jesus and one day she accepts
His gift of eternal life. And becomes a
citizen of Heaven. Where one day she
will be fully healed, fully restored, no more broken body, no more broken
emotions, all because of Him.
Tomorrow
we celebrate all HE HAS DONE!
#nolimitlily You are loved, you are wanted, you are a treasure and you
are HIS.
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